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Is it really just a preference thing when it comes to these 2 cars? I have a 07 camry right now and love it. It's my work car and 170k miles, mostly highway miles, it really hasn't given me any trouble. Now it's coming time for a new work car. I wouldn't hesitate to get a new camry again but I just don't like the looks of the new camry. I've seen the new Altima and really like the looks of them but are they just as reliable as the camry? First and foremost, I'm looking for realibilty but if those are equal, of course I would like to like the looks of the car. I'm looking at the 4 cylinder models if that changes anything. Thanks
You know, I have 07 Camry Hybrid, and just like you do - love the car. I test drove Altima hybrid and could not stand bumpyness. Nissan is known for "sports" tuning suspension, what results in bumpy ride.
Now, I just did 1600 miles in 2013 Camry. I have very mixed feeling about it. Ride was bumpy, but very stable cornering. Car was very comfortable, but I was not impressed with 4 cyl performance. Personally, I'd rather put my 07 model over 13 one.
But hey, here's a solution for you. BUy neither. Buy Prius V. I am a large guy, and I fit FINE. They made it bigger, more peppy, and you will have legendary Prius reliability and good mpg.
Otherwise, I considered Nissan for a change, as we never had one. But I start seeing many posts about Nissans going bad, and my son's Infinity is an oil taker. I scratched Nissan off my books.
You know, I have 07 Camry Hybrid, and just like you do - love the car. I test drove Altima hybrid and could not stand bumpyness. Nissan is known for "sports" tuning suspension, what results in bumpy ride.
Now, I just did 1600 miles in 2013 Camry. I have very mixed feeling about it. Ride was bumpy, but very stable cornering. Car was very comfortable, but I was not impressed with 4 cyl performance. Personally, I'd rather put my 07 model over 13 one.
But hey, here's a solution for you. BUy neither. Buy Prius V. I am a large guy, and I fit FINE. They made it bigger, more peppy, and you will have legendary Prius reliability and good mpg.
Otherwise, I considered Nissan for a change, as we never had one. But I start seeing many posts about Nissans going bad, and my son's Infinity is an oil taker. I scratched Nissan off my books.
Of course the reg 4cyl is not going to feel as peppy as your hybrid 4cyl with the added torque of the electric motor.
And yes of couree the Prius V is bigger than the already midsize (same EPA class as Camry) regular Prius but they did not make it more "peppy". It actually is a good deal slower than the regular prius since it weighs a good deal more than a reg Prius but has the same drivetrain. Also partly why its rated at 42mpg instead of 50mpg.Of course the Prius got more power with the 3rd gen in '10 when they went bigger with the 1.8 4cyl over the previous 1.5.
Btw. The Camry will be getting a sheetmetal refresh for the '14 MY.... most likely slightly earlier release than normal.
Camry, Accord and Altima are all very different from each other in the way they feel and drive and what appeals to one won't appeal to another. The best thing is to try to get an extended test drive or even rent one for a day and drive it a lot before you decide. Value and reliability is pretty much the same for all three IMO. I would choose the Altima for it's responsive handling and comfort but that doesn't mean you will agree. Also I owned an Altima for nine trouble free years but that was 5 years ago. I got bored with the safe, Japanese 4 door sedan and went in another direction or I would have gotten another Altima.
In this class I drove extensively the 2012 Camry SE, 2013 Altima and 2012 VW Passat.
Did not drive the new Accord, so I have no opinion on it.
I hated the CVT on the Altima, terrible response.
My friend had to fight the Nissan dealer to replace his failing CVT since it was very bad. Even the brand new transmission is not much better.
Camry is nice but typical Toyota, inspires no passion...
Having just made this decision and driving almost every car in the class. I would stick with the Camry. Some say it's not the car it use to be. I don't understand this. We had a V6 Camry back in about 04-05 and the new 2012-2013 is every bit the car that one was but with more comfort and features. The styling is take it or leave it. You either like it or you don't.
As for the Altima. I've had one major complaint with them. The CVT transmission is a piece of crap.... If you spend any time looking at the Altima fourms you'll read hundreds of reports of these transmissions failing early. Some with as little as 30K miles on them.
Only you can make the decision which model is best for you. Go drive the cars back to back. Several times if need be. This is what I did and after weeks of banging my head against the wall I decided the Camry SE was the best fit for me.
Another model to consider is the Accord. The 2013 is a nice looking car with some nice features but it too has that goofy CVT trans. Hopefully it will offer better reliability than the Nissan.
I looked at the Camry SE myself, but they were a little more than I wanted to spend. I like the way the LE model drove, but it just looked like an old persons car IMO.
I ended up buying a Sonata, time will tell if its a good car, but I do love the styling of it and so far I'm getting 36mpg on the highway.
I looked at the Camry SE myself, but they were a little more than I wanted to spend. I like the way the LE model drove, but it just looked like an old persons car IMO.
I ended up buying a Sonata, time will tell if its a good car, but I do love the styling of it and so far I'm getting 36mpg on the highway.
The Sonata looks ok, but I would never drive a Hyundai or a Kia.
Get a Mazda6. It's in the same class as Camry and Altima. It's just been redesigned and looks awesome. Great reliability, great gas mileage, good torque/HP and handles well.
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